


Bonjour, Mon Général

by DamnDanton



Series: Washette one-shots [1]
Category: 18th Century CE RPF, American Revolution RPF, Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, Laf and George are awkward cuties, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 21:52:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7548520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DamnDanton/pseuds/DamnDanton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lafayette has not been in America long when he is introduced to the stoic General George Washington. The two form an instant connection and Lafayette is haunted by some not entirely appropriate thoughts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonjour, Mon Général

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, lovelies! So, this is our first fanfic, we hope you enjoy! We are all 100% Washette trash, we absolutely love these two idiots. Sorry if any of the French is incorrect, none of us are native speakers. Thank you!

Lafayette had never been nervous in his life. He had not been nervous when he had danced with Marie Antoinette at her wedding to King Louis. He hadn't been nervous when he had married his own wife, dear Adrienne. He hadn't even been nervous when his father-in-law had sent him to England ( _quelle horreur!_ the young Frenchman thought, shuddering at the memory) for three weeks to try to dissuade him from joining the American cause. However, his attempts had been in vain: Lafayette was devoted to helping the Americans secure their independence from the British. He had hated the British for as long as he could remember and he had good reason to; his father had been killed in battle with the British when Lafayette was only two years old. Bitter resentment combined with his own ideals of freedom and liberty set him up with an unfading urge to fight for the Americans.

_'We appreciate you coming all the way from France, Marquis,' a man from Congress had told him sullenly, 'but we really can't take you on. We can't even pay our own men, let alone a Frenchman.'_

_Not one to be easily deterred, even as the man was striding away from him, Lafayette had exclaimed, 'I will fight free of charge!'_

_That had caught the man's attention! He slowly turned round, eyebrows raised, a look of absolute confusion right across his face, as he repeated Lafayette's words incredulously._

_He nodded. 'I have no need for any more money, I can finance myself whilst I am here without problem. Please, Sir, it is my greatest desire to serve your country. It is all I want to do.'_

_Still in shock, the man managed to let out an awe-inspired, 'All right,' before welcoming Lafayette to the Continental army._

Lafayette hadn't been nervous then- a little worried that he would be rejected, but not _nervous_ per se _._

Yet now, as he walked into the large meeting room, talking everything in, he was absolutely terrified. He scanned around the room, looking for solace in a friendly smile. He found none. 

Then he saw _him._ A man that people were crowding around, desperately aching for a chance to speak with him. It had to be George Washington. Lafayette swallowed, quite taken aback at the general's appearance.

Washington was very tall. Lafayette was used to towering above everyone in his presence, but Washington was the tallest man that he had ever seen. He was broad and appeared to be quite muscular. His features were very defined and he had a light stubble along his jawline up to his pronounced cheekbones. His mouth was large, his lips pale and a little chapped, and his eyes were a beautiful blue. Lafayette was instantly drawn to them and quickly lost himself. It took a man calling his name to realise that he was staring.

He blushed and turned to a man behind him. 'Yes, Sir, may I help you?' 

'J'allais vous demander la même,' he replied with a cheerful grin. 'Êtes-vous perdu?'

Lafayette sighed in relief, comforted to hear a French voice. 'Merci, Monsieur. Pardonez-moi mais est-ce que c'est,' he nodded his head towards the tall man that he had just been staring at, 'Général Washington?' He cursed himself at the way his words trembled a little as he said the handsome general's name. Lafayette was married and had two darling daughters. He could _not_ feel attracted to another man, could he?

The man laughed. 'Oui, c'est lui. Je m'appelle Alexander Hamilton,' he announced, offering a hand for Lafayette to shake. 'Voulez-vous que je le vous présente?'

Lafayette swallowed, his apprehension increasing tenfold. Oui, merci, Monsieur Hamilton.' He shook Alexander's hand, wincing at the slightly sweaty nature of his own palms.

Alexander, however, did not seem to notice. Or care. 'M'appellez Alexander, s'il vous plaît.' Then he led Lafayette towards the crowd of men surrounding Washington.

'Sir,' announced Alexander as he stood opposite the general, 'this is the Marquis de Lafayette. He has arrived from France.'

Washington's eyes widened as he saw the young man in front of him. He extended a large hand and said, 'Monsieur, how do you do? We are most grateful to have you here in our blessed country.'

Lafayette accepted Washington's hand and had to suppress a shiver he felt as his skin connected with the general's. 'Bonjour, Sir. I am most honoured to be so accepted by your country.'

Washington swallowed uneasily. Lafayette's English was astonishing but heavily accented. It was _that_ accent that caused a flush of heat to rush straight to his cheeks. Lafayette's voice was soft and sensual, like a caress, and Washington would have done anything to hear more. 'It is I who is honoured, Marquis, by your selflessness and devotion to our cause. If I may ask,' he added hurriedly, 'why did you offer to fight for us without pay?'

The room had fallen silent and everyone was staring at Lafayette. He smiled slightly and replied, 'I care not for money or military glory, General, only for your liberty.'

The room erupted in applause. Lafayette was beaming, his self-consciousness only returning when he saw Washington returning his smile. Lafayette felt his heart flutter a little at the general's upturned lips and his shining eyes. He decided there and then that he would do anything he could to make Washington happy just in the hope of seeing that endearing smile again. As if the man could get more gorgeous! _Non,_ Lafayette mentally scolded himself, _il est interdit de penser comme cela- il est votre général, pas votre femme._

'Marquis, I was wondering, after dinner, if you would like to survey the troops with me?' asked Washington once the cheers had lulled.

Lafayette nodded nervously. 'I would be honoured, General.'

Washington grasped Lafayette's shoulder and said, 'Then let us sit down for dinner, so that we may all get to know our newest major general.'

Lafayette tried to dismiss the feelings that he felt when Washington touched him. Unable to speak, he nodded again and followed Washington into the dining room.

The other men teased Lafayette for a while. He had expected as much. His English was not perfect, and his accent was almost unintelligible to some, so they teased him for that. They teased him when he asked for some wine, unwilling to touch the strong American whiskey. They teased him about almost getting arrested by the French King's own orders on his way here. There was only one thing that Lafayette felt out-right embarrassed for: when they teased him about his age.

Lafayette hated to be reminded of the fact that he was so young. Well, nineteen did not feel that young to him but to the other generals he must have seemed like a child. It was humiliating, even if he was now Washington's new major general.

Washington. Lafayette was hopelessly captivated by everything that the older man said, whether or not it was to him. His voice was deep and firm, commanding. Lafayette let his mind wander, wondering what it would be like to be commanded by Washington... _Ça suffit!_ Lafayette shook his head violently and desperately tried to slow his heart beat.

'Are you sure you didn't have any of our whiskey?' joked Alexander, this time in English, the alcohol evidently having gone to his head, swatting Lafayette's arm affectionately.

Lafayette could not help but blush.

'Leave the poor man alone,' said Washington with a sigh. 'He's had a long journey and I suspect he's very lonely without his family- or barely anyone that speaks a word of French, for that matter. Are you lonely, Marquis?' he asked, turning to the red-faced Frenchman.

Once again, everyone was staring at Lafayette. 'A little, I must confess, Sir.'

Washington clapped him on the back, making Lafayette jerk in shock. 'Don't worry. You'll fit in soon enough.' Then he lifted his glass of whiskey and toasted, 'To the Marquis de Lafayette!'

'To Lafayette!' the chorus cheered, downing their drinks.

Lafayette's blush refused to fade and he smiled sheepishly at Washington. 'Thank you, Sir,' he whispered.

When Washington actually winked at him, Lafayette thought that he would faint.

What Lafayette did not know was that Washington was equally as captivated- if not more so- by the man sitting to his left as Lafayette was by him. Washington stole occasional glances at the young French general, taking in his appearance. He was tall, though not as tall as Washington was, of course, and very slim. Washington worried that the man would waste away in the bitter American winter unless he got some decent food in him. His skin was very pale, an aristocrat's trademark, Washington had learned from an early age. His small mouth was a pale red, almost the same colour as his adorable blush whenever he was embarrassed (which was frequent, under some of his men's relentless mockery). His cheekbones were very high and sharp, his jawline smooth and hard. His eyes were a warm brown and his pupils were large, blown wide with hope and aspiration. A glorious mane of dark auburn hair framed his face and was tied neatly with a single red ribbon. Washington gulped when his gaze ran down Lafayette's white neck, intently watching the way he moved when he spoke in that gorgeous accent of his. He had some trouble curbing his thoughts.

The Frenchman's light and comparatively innocent manner made Washington feel young again. He was not ancient but he had many more years compared to the man who was laughing at something ridiculous that Hamilton had said. Nineteen. _Nineteen,_ Washington thought, a little dazed. Lafayette barely even looked that old with his rosy cheeks and porcelain complexion. He resembled a doll- so fragile and breakable. Washington set himself his own mission: to protect Lafayette whatever happened.

Aside from the occasional teasing, he thoroughly enjoyed the dinner. Alexander was kind to him, involving him in some of their jokes, introducing him to other important men in this rebellion. There was one man in particular, Hercules Mulligan, who Lafayette got along with immediately. It was reassuring to know that he would at least have some friends whilst in this foreign land. Washington asked questions- about his wife, his children, his homeland... Lafayette gushed about his country and what life was like back in France ( _"Boring is the short answer, I am afraid, mon général,"_ he had quipped) but stumbled when he mentioned his family. He loved his strong and devoted wife, Adrienne, and he cared about his darling daughters. They were both so young, so pure and precious to him. He missed them all terribly. A lump formed in his throat and he had some difficulty saying any more.

Trying to ease his new general, Washington affectionately rubbed Lafayette's arm in comfort.

The Frenchman forced one half-hearted chuckle. 'Still,' he murmured, taking a small sip of his wine, 'perhaps it is best that I left them when they did. They are too young to have any memories of me. If I die, it will not be so hard for them.'

The mood at the dinner table dropped at once. A couple of men were glaring at Lafayette for bringing everyone down but most were trying to smile reassuringly at him.

Washington patted Lafayette almost as if he was a hurt puppy. 'Do not say such things, Marquis. I have every faith that you will survive- that we will all survive. For we have our freedom. We will defeat the British with ease now that you are with us. We all miss our families, but we are now each other's family. We are all here for each other, aren't we, men?' He looked up at the other occupants of the table.

Alexander smiled encouragingly and raised his glass. 'To freedom.'

Everyone else raised their glasses and chanted, 'To freedom.'

Washington returned his gaze to Lafayette. 'Marquis, how would we make such a toast in your fine nation?'

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Lafayette rosebud mouth. He raised his glass again and announced, 'À la liberté.'

The others followed suit, with most not even attempting a French accent. Lafayette couldn't help but giggle at the couple that he heard, including that of his general's.

'Are you laughing at me, Marquis?' questioned Washington with an amused expression.

Lafayette grinned. 'Forgive me, General, but your French... it is not quite perfect.'

Washington shook his head, a muted chortle escaping his lips.

After everyone had finished their dinner and the conversations had lulled (and Hercules had had a few too many drinks) Washington asked Lafayette, 'Marquis, would you now do me the honour of accompanying me on my survey of the troops?' He stood up, prompting everyone else at the table to do the same.

Lafayette nodded and followed Washington as he began to walk out of the dining hall. The two were silent all the way to the main door out of the building, Lafayette just a step behind his general. A servant handed them both their cloaks and the two nodded with a gracious, 'Thank you,' before walking out into the cold night air.

Still, the two were silent as they trudged along the dirt pathway to the camp. Lafayette was still rather chilly but did not dare say anything. The last thing he wanted to do was appear to be weak. _Children_ were weak and Lafayette was adamant about proving to everyone, including Washington, that he was not a child. He bit the insides of his cheeks to stop his teeth from chattering and wrapped his cloak tighter around his thin body. He swallowed and risked looking up at Washington, who was just staring ahead of him, his face expressionless. Lafayette gulped when he realised that his gaze had lingered a little too long on the general's mouth. _Arrêtez!_ he scolded himself for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

At last, they reached the camp. Lafayette sighed when he saw a dull fire, his breath a ghostly pale grey in the freezing air. His cheeks were flushed but, for the first time since meeting Washington, it was genuinely a result of the cold.

Washington decided to take this time to break the silence. 'These are my men,' he announced. 'They are not in the best condition, but they are still in fighting spirits, aren't you?' he called out.

'Yes, General Washington!' they replied enthusiastically.

Lafayette gulped and bit his lip as Washington leaned in close to whisper, 'Just mention the British and they'll want to drive them out with their bare hands.' When he leaned away, Lafayette exhaled raggedly, not even bothering to tell himself to stop acting so inappropriately about another man. 'They'll do well,' Washington continued with a confident smile. 'They're good men and they'll take to you, I know it.'

Lafayette smiled appreciatively, not trusting himself to speak without his voice trembling.

The survey lasted around an hour and a half. Washington had praised his troops for their loyalty and discipline, and had introduced Lafayette to all of them. They seemed to be a little wary of the Frenchman at first but when Lafayette smiled and wished them well in stumbling, heavily-accented English, they could not help but warm to him. Washington smiled at his army. It gave him hope. And now with the added help from France, America's fortunes had certainly changed! Yes, George certainly wanted to keep the Marquis close to him.

'Marquis, as you know, we are most honoured to have you here in America,' Washington began. 'I was wondering if you would further the honour that I feel by sharing a room with me.' When he saw Lafayette's eyes widen, he hurriedly added, 'It is only natural, in America, for a commander and his closest major general to sleep in a room together. It makes conversing over battle plans more practical, you see.'

Lafayette sighed in relief. He had been unable to control his reaction, however hard he tried. _To sleep in the same room as George Washington!_ The general was wrong: it would not be an honour for himself, but for Lafayette. To share a space with the venerated commander of the Continental army! When he had not even fought a single battle! It felt too good to be true. Yet the serious, wistful look on Washington's face told the young Frenchman that it was not. He cleared his throat to regain his composure. 'I will gladly accept your invitation. Forgive me, I am rather inexperienced in the ways of war.'

Washington smiled. 'Of course. I should not have been so hasty.' There was a brief silence before he continued, 'It is rather late now. Shall we retire?'

Lafayette nodded. 'Yes, thank you, General.'

'You must call me George,' Washington insisted as they began to slowly walk back to the inn.

Lafayette could not prevent the smile from spreading across his face. 'Then you must call me Gilbert.'

'Gilbert?'

' _Oui._ Unless you would prefer "Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch."' He would later scold himself for outright _giggling_ with George Washington.

George chuckled nervously. 'I think I'll go with Gilbert, then. Better save the air, what with my old lungs.'

Lafayette rolled his eyes. 'Old lungs,' he tutted. 'You are not an invalid, George.'

'Not yet, anyway. Still, with the King's men constantly at our heels, I sometimes fear for the men. Or, at the very least, I wish it upon Charles Lee. Have you had the misfortune of meeting him yet?'

Lafayette grinned. 'Alas, I have not.'

'You are lucky.'

'I am.'

The look that Lafayette gave him caused Washington's heart to swell. He was so honest and sincere, so pure. He meant it, despite the joking. Washington was overwhelmed by it. What had America done to deserve such a sweet treasure? Such a kind and determined boy? Aye, he would need reining in at times, but he had the makings of a great soldier. Tears threatened Washington's eyes and he forced himself to look away. They walked back to the inn in silence.

When they approached the door of Washington's room, they both froze and glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. 

Washington was the one to finally break the silence. He forced a cough and muttered, 'If you don't mind, Gilbert, I have some business to attend to with my other generals. Would you mind if I left you?'

Lafayette shook his head and bit his lip to conceal his conflicted disappointment. 'Not at all. However, I am very tired from my long journey. You would not find me rude if I went straight to sleep, would you?'

Washington shook his head as well. 'Of course not. You must rest.' There was another awkward pause as they stared at each other. 'If there is nothing else you need, I shall leave you now.'

'A key, George, might be useful, if you please.'

Washington's heart spiked at the slightly teasing nature of Lafayette's voice. Then he cursed himself for being so thoughtless, too consumed by his thoughts of Lafayette, too lost in forbidden fantasies... He shoved his right hand into the pocket of his coat and drew out a silver key. 'I don't have a spare, so I'll just unlock this for you, if you don't mind.'

Lafayette nodded and stepped out of the way. His bottom lip found its way between his teeth yet again. He was certain that he would have a horrid ulcer the next day but could not bring himself to abandon the habit. 'Thank you,' he whispered as Washington unlocked the door. He took one step inside and turned around cautiously to look at Washington. 'Thank you again, for welcoming me so... so...,' _Merde, le mot!_

'Warmly?'

It wasn't the right word at all, but it would have to do. 'Yes, warmly. Thank you, George.'

Washington smiled. 'You're most welcome, Gilbert. Thank you for being so generous and devoted to our cause. We must talk more thoroughly in the morning. But now I will let you sleep. I hope you have a good first night here.'

Lafayette nodded. 'Thank you, George.' And before his runaway tongue or language failures could get him into any more trouble, he gently closed the door.

He did not head straight to bed. He turned around and leant against the door, exhaling raggedly. What was wrong with him? This was far too inappropriate, for two men to act in such a way and for a lesser to be so bold in front of his superior. It was wrong, Lafayette told himself. _Mal, mal, mal!_ However, Washington had never indicated that he was disgusted by Lafayette's behaviour. If anything, he had engaged and encouraged it. Washington appeared equally as willing as Lafayette, a fact which made the Frenchman smile.

When Lafayette finally did haul himself onto the bed that did not have pens and paper scattered across it, his thoughts drifted back to Washington. Perhaps his time in America would be even better than he thought, and for entirely different reasons...

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:
> 
> Quelle horreur!- How awful!  
> J'allais vous demander la même. Êtes-vous perdu?- I was going to ask you the same. Are you lost?  
> Merci, Monsieur. Pardonez-moi mais est-ce que c'est Général Washington?- Thank you, Sir. Excuse me but is that General Washington?  
> Oui, c'est lui. Je m'appelle Alexander Hamilton. Voulez-vous que je le vous présente?- Yes, that's him. I'm Alexander Hamilton. Do you want me to introduce him to you?  
> Oui, merci, Monsieur Hamilton- Yes, thank you, Mr. Hamilton  
> M'appellez Alexander, s'il vous plait- Call me Alexander, please  
> Non, il est interdit de penser comme cela- il est votre général, pas votre femme- No, it is forbidden to think like that- he is your general, not your wife  
> Ça suffit!- Enough!  
> Arrêtez- Stop  
> Merde, le mot!- Shit, the word!  
> Mal, mal, mal!- Wrong, wrong, wrong!


End file.
